Report: Immigration officials took no action against undocumented journalist

Immigration officials took no action against undocumented journalist Jose Antonio Vargas following his arrest Friday in Minnesota, Politico reports.

Vargas was picked up and charged with driving without a license Friday morning in Hennepin County, which participates in the Secure Communities collaboration program between local law enforcement and U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Vargas did not respond to an email from The Raw Story seeking comment.

Eric Roeske, a spokesperson for the Minnesota state patrol said a state trooper pulled Vargas over after seeing him drive while wearing headphones. Vargas then produced a driver’s license from Washington state. According to The Huffington Post, officials there revoked that license following Vargas’ revelation in The New York Times that he had been living and working in the U.S. as an undocumented immigrant.

“When the trooper ran the license, it showed the status [of the license] was canceled,” Roeske said. “It also indicated there may have been fraudulent activity associated with the license.”

Roeske said the notice of possible “fraudulent activity” spurred the trooper to contact customs officials. He also said he did not know what activity the trooper may have found.

Vargas was taken into custody at Hennepin County jail but was released that afternoon. Roeske said Vargas spoke to an unidentified captain “who works with ICE” before his release, but did not know the nature of that conversation.

Vargas did not discuss his arrest during a Sunday appearance on the MSNBC show Up With Chris Hayes in which he discussed the debate over journalists using the term “illegal immigrant.” He is scheduled to appear in court in Hennepin County on Oct. 18.

About the Author

Arturo R. García is the managing editor at Racialicious.com. He is based in San Diego, California and has written for both print and broadcast media, including contributions to GlobalComment.com, The Root and Comment Is Free. Follow him on Twitter at @ABoyNamedArt